A U.S. man has been fined $2,500 after pleading guilty to operating without a compulsory angling guide licence near Fernie.

Benjamin Robert Mohan’s plea comes after he was arrested by conservation officers following a joint investigation with American law enforcement agencies in Idaho.

Mohan was employed as a ‘host’ for an American guiding outfit based in New York that offered angling trips around Fernie, B.C. Clients would book the trip with the company and Mohan would accompany them for their fishing expedition.

Canadian and American law enforcement agencies booked a weeklong trip at $1,900 as part of an undercover operation and Mohan was eventually taken into custody.

He made a first appearance on Nov. 20, 2014, at the Fernie Law Courts.